Filing cabinet

ABSTRACT

A filing cabinet having a plurality of rows or tiers of open compartments arranged in a novel manner such as to reduce the overall height of the cabinet for accommodating a predetermined number of compartments and to facilitate placing and removing of articles into and from the compartments.

United States Patent Childs Feb. 22, {1972 [54] FILING CABINET 1,216,250 2/1917 Bittle ..2l l/lO X [72] Inventor: Harry F. Childs, Route 28 South Orleans 2 1 7 a" 211/10 X Road R0 BOX 427 Orleans Mass. 92 Bernar ..21 l /50 2,128,854 8/1938 Sagendorph 211/10 X 3,269,788 8/1966 Kneer 211/10 X [22] Filed: June 24, 1970 3,430,774 3/1969 Karkut ..211/50 [211 Appl' 49249 Primary Examiner-Nile C. Byers, Jr.

Attorney-Robert R. Churchill [52] U.S.Cl ..2ll/l0,312/117 [51] Int. Cl. ..B42f 17/00 [57] ABSTRACT [58] held of Search 55; gi i A filing cabinet having a plurality of rows or tiers of open compartments arranged in a novel manner such as to reduce the overall height of the cabinet for accommodating a predeter- [56] References Cited mined number of compartments and to facilitate placing and UNITED STATES PATENTS removing of articles into and from the compartments.

969,135 8/1910 Crabtree ..3l2/50 1 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures FILING CABINET This invention relates to a filing cabinet.

The invention has for an object to provide a novel and improved filing cabinet of the typehaving a plurality of tiers of open compartments or pigeonholes arranged in a manner such as to facilitate depositing and removing articles into and out of the compartments and whose structure is such as to reduce the height of the cabinet to accommodate a given number of compartments.

With this general object in view and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the filing cabinet as hereinafter described and particularly defined in the claims at the end of this specification.

In the drawings illustrating the preferred embodiment of the invention:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a filing cabinet embodying the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevation of thecabinet showing the manner of supporting the cabinet on a switchboard;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 33 of FIG. I; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line 44 of FIG. 1.

In general, the present invention contemplates a novel filing cabinet of the type having a plurality of rows of tiers of open compartments or pigeonholes, such cabinets being known in the trade as a message rack, and which is particularly adapted for use with a telephone switchboard in a telephone answering service. In such a service, each subscriber has a separate line which is numbered on the switchboard to correspond to the same number given one of the open compartments. Thus, when a call comes in for a particular numbered subscriber. the operator at the switchboard takes the message and writes it on a slip of paper which is then filed in the open compartment having the same number. Subsequently, when the subscriber phones to see if any messages have been received, the operator removes the slip or slips and reports the messages to the subscriber. Such prior message racks are conveniently supported by attachment to the upper portion of the switchboard so that the operator may reach up to deposit or retrieve the message slips.

In practice each switchboard is designed to accommodate about I subscribers, and a commonly used message rack of the prior art has four or five tiers having approximately 26 compartments in each tier. Such pn'or message racks are made of an overall width corresponding to the width of a standard switchboard commonly used by those carrying on a telephone answering service, such width being about 29% or 29% inches or less. Thus, all such message racks are limited to this width in order to accommodate a series of switchboards lined up side by side. The compartments in such prior message racks are relatively closely spaced and are separated by relatively thin spacing members. In practice, the messages are written on three by five slips and the compartments are made of a size so as to accommodate such slips. In order to facilitate removal of the slips in a compartment, each compartment is made of a depth such as to have the slips extend forwardly of the front face thereof.

One of the disadvantages of the prior message racks is that when the rack is four or five tiers high, it is difficult for the operator to reach the upper compartments from a seated position. Another disadvantage is that when inserting a group of message slips into one compartment, it is easily possible to inadvertently insert one of the slips of the group into an adjacent compartment because of the thin spacing between the compartments of the prior filing cabinets. A still further disadvantage is that groups of messages on three by five slips placed in adjacent, closely spaced compartments are difficult to separate by reason of the thin sheet spacing so that some of the slips from one group may be inadvertently withdrawn from an adjacent group. Furthermore, when adjacent compartments are partially filled, itis likely that the forwardly extended ends of the message slips may become mingled so that the operator may inadvertently place a message slip in the wrong compartment.

In accordance withthe present invention, these disadvantages are overcome by structure wherein the overall height of the message rack is substantially reduced so that an operator need not rise from his chair in order to reach the upper row of compartments, and wherein the spacing between adjacent compartments is substantially increased whereby to materially isolate each compartment from adjacent compartments for greater accuracy in inserting slips and whereby to afford ample clearance between groups of slips in adjacent compartments for inserting the finger and thumb to withdraw a single group.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, the present filing cabinet or message rack indicated generally by the numeral 10 comprises a rectangular structure of predetermined width providing a plurality of rows of open compartments or pigeonholes l2, herein shown as five rows arranged in staggered or offset relation to each other whereby the five rows occupy a height normally occupied by three tiers of compartments in nonstaggered relation.

As herein illustrated, each of the five rows contains 20 compartments making a total of I00 compartments, and adjacent compartments in each row are spaced apart an amount equal to the width of a compartment. Thus, the compartments in alternate rows arranged in staggered relation occupy the areas afforded by the spacing between the compartments in adjacent rows.

Specifically, the illustrated cabinet is confined by upper and lower walls l4, 16; end walls 18, 20; a central wall 22; and a rear wall 24, the front of the cabinet being open. The first row of compartments of equal width indicated generally at 26 is provided with a plurality of spacing members 28 equal in width to the compartments and each spacing member is disposed between and supported by relatively thin sheets 30 which extend from top to bottom of the cabinet to serve as separating elements between adjacent compartments in each row.

The second row of compartments of equal width, designated generally at 32, is arranged in staggered or offset relation to the first and third rows and is provided with a plu rality of spacing members 34 which also serve as vertical spacing members between the compartments in the first row 26 and the third row 36. Similar spacing members 38 and 39 are provided between the compartments in the third and fourth rows respectively, while spacing members 40 separate the compartments in the fifth row. Spacing members 38 also serve as vertical spacers between the second and fourth rows of compartments and spacing members 39 are similarly employed to separate the third and fifth rows. To further define the relationship between the compartments, the first compartments in each of the first, third and fifth rows define a vertical column 42 of three compartments, one above the other and separated by spacing members 34 and 39. The first compartment in each of the second and fourth rows also define a vertical column 44 of two compartments, one above the other and separated from each other by spacing member 38, the compartments in the second column 44 being staggered or offset relative to the compartments in the first column 42.

In other words, the compartments in adjacent columns are disposed intermediate of and in partial overlapping relation to each other and consequently adjacent horizontally extended rows are defined as being staggered or offset from each other and as having portions of the compartments in one row arranged in overlapping relation to the compartments in adjacent horizontally extended rows. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the compartments, arranged to hold three by five slips 60, are each 3% inches high, about A to inches wide, and 4 /and A inches deep so that the 5-inch long slips will extend about one-half of an inch forward of the front face of the cabinet as clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the cabinet 10 may be conveniently supported on top of the switchboard indicated at 46 by a bracket 48 secured to the center of the top of the cabinet and extended downwardly at an angle and attached to the top of the switchboard. The lower end of the cabinet overlies the front face of the switchboard for a short distance, and the rear of the cabinet is provided with support bar 50 extending the full length of the cabinet, and a flat bar 52 connects the bracket 48 to the support bar 50.

From the above description it will be seen that the novel structure of the present filing cabinet is such as to accom modate a predetermined number of open compartments of uniform size in a cabinet of predetermined width and whose height is substantially reduced with relation to prior cabinets holding a similar number of compartments of the same uniform size whereby to place all of the compartments within easy reach of an operator in a seated position. It will also be observed that the increased spacing between adjacent compartments is such as to afford ample clearance for the accurate insertion of slips in any single compartment and also provides clearance for the fingers to remove a particular group of cards from a compartment whereby to avoid withdrawal of cards from one compartment with those of an adjacent compartment. An important advantage arising from the spacing and offsetting of the compartments in accordance with the present invention is that the operator is less likely to deposit a message slip in a compartment other than the one intended. Another advantage of the present structure of filing cabinet is that the arrangement of the compartments in five rows of IO compartments in each row disposed on either side of the center wall of the cabinet corresponds to the usual arrange ment of the jacks on the standard switchboard.

It will be understood that the present filing cabinet may be used with advantage for purposes other than in conjunction with a switchboard for a telephone answering service.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

l. A filing cabinet having a plurality of rows of open compartments of uniform width, spacing members between adjacent compartments of a width equal to the width of the compartments, alternate compartments in adjacent rows being arranged in staggered relation whereby to permit a reduction in height of the cabinet for a predetermined number of compartments in a cabinet having a fixed width, said spacing members being supported between thin sheets which also serve to separate the compartments in those areas between the spacing members in adjacent rows. 

1. A filing cabinet having a plurality of rows of open compartments of uniform width, spacing members between adjacent compartments of a width equal to the width of the compartments, alternate compartments in adjacent rows being arranged in staggered relation whereby to permit a reduction in height of the cabinet for a predetermined number of compartments in a cabinet having a fixed width, said spacing members being supported between thin sheets which also serve to separate the compartments in those areas between the spacing members in adjacent rows. 